As of March 2008, Homosexuality is legal in Nicaragua. This discussion predated the change in the law.

"Homosexuality is illegal and is punished by up to three years in jail"

I am not sure, if that is correct, at least in Leon there are quite some gays around and pretty open as well. -- (WT-en) Nicamds 15:50, 5 Aug 2005 (EDT)

See WikiPedia:Homosexuality laws of the world There are many laws around the world which are routinely ignored and unenforced. But gays needs to know what they are just in case some backwards prosecutor decides to throw the book at them. In the Americas, the harshness of Nicaragua's homosexual laws are only exceeded by Guyana which imposes life in prison for homosexuality. -- (WT-en) Colin 17:01, 5 Aug 2005 (EDT)

Homosexuality is NOT illegal.

Sadly, you are wrong. It may not be a law that is enforced often, but a warning is desirable in case some two-bit prosecutor decides to effect his personal notions of morality on an innocent traveller. If you are from Nicaragua, I suggest you lobby your legislator to fix this idiotic law which is the only one of it's kind in Central America. -- (WT-en) Colin 19:53, 21 April 2006 (EDT)

See also this website which describes the situation. The current law "Article 205" was passed in 1992 and was affirmed by the Nicaraguan Supreme Court in 1994. Googling "Article 205" is also useful. -- (WT-en) Colin 20:00, 21 April 2006 (EDT)

"Homosexuality is illegal and is punished by up to three years in jail" I would like to clarify this sentence. Homosexuality is Not Illegal. Nobody would go to jail for being gay or lesbian. I strongly recommend the person who wrote this to fix this mistake. I am Nicaraguan, and I’m a straight guy. However, I have a few gay friends in my country which are very nice friends, and let me tell you that they live happy there, without any oppression.

In other words, you didn't read any of the references and are uninformed. If you want to dispute this, try doing some research and pointing to any information that supports your viewpoint. Some of the reference I have cited include actual prosecutions. -- (WT-en) Colin 18:24, 28 May 2006 (EDT)

I reverted the edits on anon user 190.53.15.171, as I could not confirm if it was true and it should be put in the Stay safe section. Also, some information was removed that appeared to be valuable. If someone can speak to the validity of the edits please add back any appropriate information. -- (WT-en) Tom Holland (xltel) 10:46, 17 December 2006 (EST)

Can some knowledgeable people please fix the bias in this article? It seems to be written by a fine Nicaraguan patriot, e.g. "Tourists are comming here for the beauty and richness this country has to offer." Thanks. 10:11, 18 July 2009 (GMT)

We are currently using the fifteen departments as Nicaragua's regions breakdown, but I think we would be better served in using a division that is more travel oriented, rather than political, and that has a more digestible number of regions, say 5–9. I can suggest a few regions: Carribean Nicaragua (the two big Atlantic departments), Lake Nicaragua Region (the 5 departments surrounding the lake), Northern Nicaragua (inland northern departments), etc. --(WT-en) PeterTalk 16:38, 20 October 2009 (EDT)

I definitly agree, some departments mostly have only the city of the same name, i m gonna look into the possible regroupments..(WT-en) Rafcha 16:43, 20 October 2009 (EDT)

The Carribean Nicaragua region with the two big Atlantic departments is a very logical choice, a Northern Highlands region could include all theses : Nueva Segovia, Jinotega, Madriz, Esteli and Matagalpa.

I think we could group Chinandega and Leon in a northern pacific coast region. Name ?

Managua, Granada and Carazo form a logical travel division as it s easy to do daytrips within these 3 departments.

Rivas could be included in a lake Nicaragua region but it s as orientated towards the sea than the lake.. it could also be joined with the 3 above (Managua, Granada and Carazo) to form a south pacific region but that would leave only the three eastern side departments of(Boaco, Chontales and Rio San Juan) for the Lake Nicaragua Region so maybe it would need another name.. (WT-en) Rafcha 16:59, 20 October 2009 (EDT)

Eastern Lake Side -- no idea. I'll think about this one more. --(WT-en) PeterTalk 17:24, 20 October 2009 (EDT)

The Eastern Lake Side article is too much a leftover region for it to be coherent, I think, especially since people don't really visit Lake Nicaragua from the east. How about putting Río San Juan into the Caribbean Nicaragua article, and then Boaco and Chontales into the Northern Nicaragua Highlands? --(WT-en) PeterTalk 17:30, 20 October 2009 (EDT)

I think we could name the Eastern lake side Rio San Juan Region or something along theses lines. I think it s more coherent to keep them together as people going to Rio San Juan will have to travel through Boaco and Chotales. The atlantic region can only be reached by boat and we can t really classify Boaco and Chotales as highlands as they contain some off the beaten path islands on the lake.(WT-en) Rafcha 17:37, 20 October 2009 (EDT)

Sounds like a fair solution to me. If you want to organize the regions and redirect the departments to the new articles, I'll get to work on a map. --(WT-en) PeterTalk 17:54, 20 October 2009 (EDT)

I ll start reorganizing all this, that s how it should look in the end :

Good work Rafcha. There is nothing more pleasing at WT than an over-complex regional structure being sorted out so that it makes sense to visitors. Cheers. --(WT-en) Burmesedays 09:50, 21 October 2009 (EDT)

Thanks ! with the map it will look good, I ll try to work on some more detailed descriptions for the regions.. What should be done with the former department articles ? redirect to the new regions ?

Yep, redirect to the regions. I'll try to knock off a map tomorrow, but no promises ;) --(WT-en) PeterTalk 23:07, 21 October 2009 (EDT)

Has links to the country's major cities and other destinations (usable status or better), a valid regional structure, and a Get in section describing all of the typical ways to get there. Information about the country's currency, language, cuisine, and culture is included. At least the most prominent attraction is identified with directions.

So it's not there yet, as many of the linked destinations are still at outline status... Texugo (talk) 12:57, 29 July 2014 (UTC)

Also note that the See section should not be just another list of the same cities and other destinations already listed in those sections above. Texugo (talk) 13:06, 29 July 2014 (UTC)

I don't know where the map is from, but I can tell from experience that it is misleading when it comes to the roads... the road from Managua to Rama (west of Bluefields, not on the map) is in an excellent state and the only noteworthy "interoceanic" (the journey onwards to Bluefields would be by boat, Rama is one of the most important Carribbean ports of Nicaragua) rode that side of the country. looking at the map one would be even more inclined to fly to Bluefields than one is already... and miss the best part ;-)141.30.210.129 21:35, 17 September 2014 (UTC)

User:Saqib is usually the go-to guy for maps here. You may want to post to User talk:Saqib and explain what changes you'd like him to make. I know he's quite busy lately, though, so be patient. Ikan Kekek (talk) 04:18, 18 September 2014 (UTC)

I unfortunately don't see it in the article141.30.210.129 12:25, 19 September 2014 (UTC)

I think that Saqib means that he has added (in yellow) a road from Juigalpa to Bluefields via Rama. It may be that this road is mystical since, in my day it was necessary to travel down the Escondido river by boat from Rama to Bluefields via Mahogany. You may not be able to view the new map because your browser (or ISP) is serving you an older, cached version. Try forcing a refresh of the page in your browser. (In Firefox, you do this by hitting three keys simultaneously: [Shift] + [Ctrl] + [R]...)

PS: Thanks for all the terrific edits you're making 141.30.210.129 - it would be great if you registered an account! --W. Frankemailtalk 12:44, 19 September 2014 (UTC)

maybe I wasn't clear: the road still stops at Rama, but the map only shows one road to Nueva Guina (and for some misterious reason a road that connects Nicaragua and Costa Rica east of the lake) there is however supposedly a road (more along the lines of a straight section of no trees in the jungle than any real tarred road I suppose) from Rama to Pearl Lagoon now 141.30.210.129 13:29, 19 September 2014 (UTC)

well I stand corrected in the fact that yes, there is indeed a road (btw. no need removing the road crossing the border they built a bridge which will be actually open for traffic quite soon) (it has already been inaugurated) but not in the preview image. you'd have to click on it;-) why I don't know. But if it is at all possible making the road stop at El Rama would imho better reflect reality.141.30.210.129 13:32, 19 September 2014 (UTC)

Well I still am kind of new here so I don't know the official policy exactly, but the question of whether to adhere to the American or rather the British variant of spelling has arisen and I think it would be best to find some form of consensus. The country as a whole never was an official colony of either the United Kingdom nor the United States, however the East was a protectorate of the British for more then three hundred years and some people there still speak Caribbean Creole English (although I don't think it would be advisable to write articles for the English wikivoyage in Creole English, as some argue it is an entirely different language from standard English) however there are hardly any native English speakers in the west or center of the country, which is culturally dominant and more densely populated. Besides that American influence has been strong (there was an US intervention in the 20s and 30s) and is culturally strong still (you can get Telemundo and HBO and Friends with subtitles) so I think there are good arguments for using American English as well as British English, but then again I don't want to ga against any established policy. But the issue has arisen and I think it should be adressed and consensus should be found. all the best wishes141.30.210.129 19:39, 19 September 2014 (UTC)

As of today I've understood most of Latin America has far stronger connections to the US than to the UK (dollars are widely used, people have immigrated to the US and keep contact to family and friends, they're geographically closer etc.). ϒpsilon (talk) 20:03, 19 September 2014 (UTC)

So do we have consensus to use standard American spelling and grammar for all articles concerning Nicaragua or will there be an exception for Caribbean destinations?141.30.210.129 13:27, 26 September 2014 (UTC)

I don't know where a respect section belongs, but one thing you hear very frequently in Nicaragua is that cheles (westerners, whites) smell bad and Nicaraguans who are usually very sharp-dressed and clean (especially considering their economic situation) consider this either extremely funny or extremely rude depending on the proximity of the olfactory offense. there are some other things I could think of (how you flag down a cab, Nicaraguans pointing somewhere with their lips....) but imho this is the most egregious.141.30.210.129 13:45, 26 September 2014 (UTC)

We still have some seven digit phone numbers in our articles on Nicaragua (some even lack the country code which is +505 and simply added to the phone number). Since at least 2011 seven digit numbers are out of use and replaced by eight digit numbers starting with 8 (mobile) or 2 (landline). However in recent years there have also been some eight digit mobile numbers starting in numbers other than 8. I know that many businesses (even those active in tourism) are notoriously bad with having up to date websites, but if you come across a seven digit phone number in a listing for a business in Nicaragua, please check with their website what the new number is. Best wishes Hobbitschuster (talk) 12:52, 17 May 2015 (UTC)

So it seems for the first time since I have been a regular editor on Wikivoyage there are actually editors with more or less steady contributions who are currently or have been to Nicaragua besides my humble self. Unfortunately, much of Nicaragua is still inadequately covered and online research is hard as many hotels and restaurants (almost all except backpacker hostels and the most expensive price category) don't have websites and if they do they are often sorely lacking, especially in the English department. However, the prose of our existing articles as well as several other aspects can do with a polishing. Our first milestone - a featured Nicaragua article will come live soon and I hope we will be able to get to a point where Nicaragua can be promoted to "guide" status and no major destinations redlink or are bare outlines. User:Justvagabonding and User:Vmenkov, you seem to have first hand knowledge of many places in Nicaragua, what do you say? Also help from an English native speaker with the tone style and prose would be much appreciated as I know my sentences can get long and confusing at times... Hobbitschuster (talk) 18:29, 6 February 2016 (UTC)

Myself, I am a bit surprised how few active editor Wikivoyage seems to have. On Wikpedia, whichever article you edit, you soon will encounter someone else who works on it, and usually it's different people working on different articles. On Wikivoyage, whatever part of the world I am editing an article on, it seems that I will see either User:Hobbitschuster or User:Ikan_Kekek contributing; sometimes I have the feeling that the two of you are are nearly the only people running this site :-) (I know that in reality there are a lot more contributors, but I guess they are working on articles about places on which I know nothing.) Talking about Nicaragua, I've been to a few places there, and am trying to improve a few articles with some useful tidbits of information, but I don't claim any kind of wide-reaching knowledge on the country to contribute in a major way. -- Vmenkov (talk) 00:04, 7 February 2016 (UTC)

I just do a lot of recent changes patrols and copy editing. I have never been further south than Miami in the Americas, though I've visited somewhat extensively in tropical and equatorial countries of Asia. Ikan Kekek (talk) 00:07, 7 February 2016 (UTC)

I think most contributors have their specialized geographic areas of the world, which frequently overlap. Latin America and Africa seem to get the least attention, which is something that should change. --Andrewssi2 (talk) 01:46, 8 February 2016 (UTC)

Judging from the (lack of ) activity on my watch list during the Super Bowl (by the way, what a game) our writer base does seem to skew towards those that are either asleep or in front of some screen during this game. As for the Latin American issue... I fear a lot of it has to do with the current state of es-WV which is really not that good considering the amount of Spanish speakers in the world. We do sometimes translate (part of) articles from other language versions, but unfortunately es-WV is rarely a good place to go for source material. I don't know why that is, but there should be an effort to change this. Hobbitschuster (talk) 17:08, 8 February 2016 (UTC)

Hi guys, sorry for getting to this a little late. I think you are right User:Hobbitschuster, we don't have enough contributors to make a full expedition. I am pleased to contribute as much as I can, however at this stage I have only been to a couple of places in Nicaragua and it doesn't seem like many other WV's have either. I will be back in Nica soon however (currently in Costa buying a moto) so when im back I will be sure to keep updating. --Justvagabonding (talk) 23:04, 8 February 2016 (UTC)

First of all, I don't really know all that much about how Commons works so if I did something wrong (e.g. added files to the wrong category) please do alert me. Anyway most of the files I have uploaded in this most recent round are of places in Nicaragua and given that a destination in said country will soon be featured and at least one of the images used there was deleted from commons, you might wish to have a look. All the best. Hobbitschuster (talk) 14:48, 13 February 2016 (UTC)

One can't put photos with timestamps into a travel guide. They are so ugly... --Alexander (talk) 16:36, 13 February 2016 (UTC)

I do not propose anything. I am just saying that it is a shame when an active contributor uploads photos with timestamps. It is so easy to switch them off, once and forever. --Alexander (talk) 19:27, 13 February 2016 (UTC)

If the timestamps are correct, HS took the Nicaraguan photos long before he started contributing here. ϒpsilon (talk) 19:42, 13 February 2016 (UTC)

Yes, and that's fine, but I would still refrain from uploading such photos unless they are absolutely unique. --Alexander (talk) 21:31, 13 February 2016 (UTC)

The more the merrier, I say. It's unfortunate they're timestamped, but if we have a dearth of photos in some area, they're better than nothing. Powers(talk) 22:12, 13 February 2016 (UTC)

List the photos that are worth adding to articles, I will attempt to paint out the timestamps or if that does not work simply crop the images. --Traveler100 (talk) 22:15, 13 February 2016 (UTC)

AFAIK, it isn't verboten to use timestamps on photos? Obviously aesthetically it would be preferable without them, but ultimately it is just one factor among many to evaluate. --Andrewssi2 (talk) 23:10, 13 February 2016 (UTC)

The photos were indeed taken before I had any knowledge of WV. I would probably not take them with timestamps today, but given that some of their subjects have no photos in commons whatsoever, I figured we could edit them in a way that the timestamp is not visible if need be. And before you ask, I have no idea how you do that. Hobbitschuster (talk) 19:21, 14 February 2016 (UTC)

I believe that you paste {{Watermark|timestamp}} towards the top of the File: description page, and wait for someone to remove the timestamps for you. WhatamIdoing (talk) 00:23, 17 February 2016 (UTC)

I recently started a talk page thread on the Nicaragua page concerning which cities should be listed. Your input - any input - would be very welcome; currently I would have to go ahead unilaterally which is not exactly desirable. Hobbitschuster (talk) 17:59, 22 September 2016 (UTC)

They seem to be just a random assortment of the first nine cities anybody thought of, neither listing the most important or interesting cities nor fairly representing all major regions. So I'll try to make another list, how about:

Managua (goes without saying, despite its 1980s L.A. levels of traffic nightmare and lack of a center)

Granada (goes without saying)

León (like Granada)

Masaya (a suburb of Managua in some regards, it still has its own charms with the artisan market and easy access to the pueblos blancos)

Bluefields (a city on the Caribbean is necessary and this is the clear candidate as well as a major travel hub)

San Carlos (not necessarily on its own strength but for its function as the gateway to the Rio San Juan region)

San Juan del Sur (surfer town, party mecca, anchoring point for cruises)

If you think one of those towns or cities should be replaced by another, please let me know Hobbitschuster (talk) 02:13, 17 September 2016 (UTC)

I felt exactly the same. The existing list does seem arbitrary and yours makes a lot more sense to me (I was surprised not to see San Juan del Sur). That said I'm not sure how significant Jinotega is and how it fares against San Carlos but I say go for it. Jdlrobson (talk) 21:59, 25 September 2016 (UTC)

I don't think I've ever been to Jinotega and I have spent quite some time in San Carlos, but we already have a major city in the Northern Highlands (Estelí) whereas we do not have any city from the Rio San Juan region unless we have San Carlos there. The next step would be to come up with god blurbs for those places. Hobbitschuster (talk) 22:04, 25 September 2016 (UTC)

Then I think you should just go ahead and edit! It seems with a bit of rewording you have good blurbs for all of them.

Suggested:

Managua - Capital leveled by a 1972 earthquake and decried as bland, slowly coming into its own again

Granada - colonial beauty, favorite with expats

León - age old rival of Granada, famous for leftist politics and its cathedral

Masaya - charming suburb of Managua with artisan market and easy access to the pueblos blancos

Bluefields - city on the carribean coast and major travel hub

San Carlos - gateway to the Rio San Juan region

Estelí - sip coffee and use as a base for various excurions including cañón de Somoto

San Juan del Sur - surfer town, party mecca and an anchoring point for cruises around the Pacific

The semi regular fare hike is upon us again. La Prensa (the main opposition newspaper) has a handy graphic as well showing which buses cost how much under the new prices. We should update articles accordingly if possible. Hobbitschuster (talk) 15:33, 11 April 2017 (UTC)

I think it is rather relevant for travelers (especially those with limited Spanish or who learned it mostly from books) to know that Nicaraguans - even in big cities - frequently misspell words, choosing v/b s/z/c and silent h seemingly at random so that "aver" can mean "haber" or "a ver". Similarly the boundaries between words are not always well known and the "swallowed s" is not always written. This is usually not a problem for people familiar with (Nicaraguan) Spanish pronunciation, but if you are looking for the sign "hay nacatamales" mentioned in the eat section, you may well find it an "ay nacatamale" sign instead. Hobbitschuster (talk) 13:56, 12 August 2017 (UTC)